Teacher Layoffs Looming at STL Community College

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – The ax may be at the tree for up to 70 teachers facing possible layoffs at St. Louis Community College.

The STLCC Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote Thursday night on a plan that would authorize Chancellor Jeff Pittman to seek the layoffs.

Pittman is faced with declining enrollment, state budget cutbacks and a projected $13 million budget shortfall in the coming years.

St. Louis Community College NEA union president Professor Robert Hertel is hoping the board will consider voluntary severance packages instead of layoffs.

Professor Robert Hertel, president of the NEA teacher’s union at the college, hopes to avoid layoffs. (Kevin Killeen/KMOX)

“I don’t know if the education itself is going to suffer terribly. It’s not good for it,” Hertel said. “It’s really more about the morale, the atmosphere, the climate here. Think back to your own educational experience. Do you remember who the chancellor was? But you probably remember some of your teachers.”

The union is organizing a no-confidence vote in Chancellor Pittman, a move he calls “disappointing.”

The board of trustees is scheduled to vote on the layoff proposal Thursday night at 7 at the Cosand Center, 300 Broadway, on the 5th floor.